Anywhere But Here
by RKOxRileyx3
Summary: Mickie remembers her past with her beloved husband on the anniversary of the most tragic day of her life. One-shot.


**This story didn't turn out as great as I wanted to. I like it. I think it's cute, but I planned it to come out better. But you guys can just let me know what you think. :)**

**Sorry for any mistakes.**

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><p>The bright, warm sun that is shining through my bedroom window completely defies the mood that I am in. I don't feel like myself right now. And I will wish I hadn't wakened up at all this morning. Better yet, I wish I slept through the <em>entire<em> day. Or I wish that May was one of those thirty day months, so then May 31st would have never had to come. I have been dreading this day ever since June 1st of last year. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. But things just had to go terribly wrong.

Slowly, I make my way out of my queen size bed and over to the window seat in my room. I slump back into the puffy pillows I have placed there and pull my knees to my chest, gazing out the window and into my backyard where I have a perfect view of the city lake.

It was on that lake that I met him.

_It was a brisk, January after noon. The lake was frozen over, and a few risk taking people were out skating on it. The trees were decorated with a light dusting of recently fallen snow. A few birds were out chirping peacefully, the cold weather not affecting them in the least._

_Then my eyes landed on him. He was standing steadily by the frozen lake, just gazing out at the few skaters. Occasionally, he would bring a foam coffee cup to his near perfect pink lips – and I was close enough to make out the Dunkin' Donuts logo on the side._

_Slowly, I made my approach casually walking through the un-shoveled sidewalk. I kept my brown eyes on him, not wanting to miss any of his graceful movements._

_I've only ever had on encounter with this man. The first thing I noticed about him was his gorgeous blue eyes. The way he gazed at me with them made my heart unexpectedly race. They were soft and mysterious. I just wanted to know more about him. The only thing I was able to find out about him was that his name was Ted. But to me and in my mind he was referred to as Teddy._

_I giggled silently to myself as I thought of his pet name._

_I continued to look at him, unable to take my eyes away. I so desperately wanted him to just turn around and look at me! But that would be too convenient, easy and perfect. If I tried to talk I might choke midsentence. Plus I didn't even know what to say. 'Hi. Remember me?' That sounded lame. Ugh._

_Nonetheless I continued my slow walk towards him with my eyes never leaving his perfect face. Then it happened. He turned so abruptly I wasn't able to fully comprehend his sudden movement. He noticed me and smiled my way before completely walking by me. Reacting quickly, I turned to look at his retreating back. No, that wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to say something to me. Crap!_

"_No!" The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it._

_He turned back to look at me, a confused expression clearly displayed on his face. I had to think quickly._

"_Hi," I said lamely._

"_Hello," he smiled softly._

"_I don't mean to bother you," I began, spitting out the first words that came into my mind not matter how much truth there was behind them, "but we bumped into each other the other day and –"_

"_Yes, of course." His smile grew slightly. "Why would I forget?"_

_Good, he remembers. "Yeah, I just couldn't help but notice your eyes . . ." I was still saying the very first thing that popped into my head._

_His smiled remained on his face. "Funny you should say that, because that is exactly why I didn't forget about you. Your eyes."_

_And that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. We talked for about an hour standing right beside the lake. And by the time he had to leave, we had a date set for the following evening._

It was on that lake that we shared our first kiss.

_About a week after our first date – which went absolutely perfect – we decided to meet up for a second time. Phone calls just weren't enough. Ted had insisted that we go skating on the lake. I was skeptical for two reasons. One; I terrified that the ice would break, I would fall in, be trapped and die. And two; I have never skated on ice in my entire life. But I didn't want to let Teddy know or see my fear. So I sucked it up and met him around 1._

_He looked stunning in his dark wash jeans and simple navy coat. His hands were closed in black leather gloves to protect himself if he were to fall._

"_I'm going to be honest with you," I begin, lacing up my skates. Even though I didn't know _how_ to skate, I still owned a pair. They used to be my moms. She would come down to this lake a skate her heart out. And she had passed them down to me, hoping I would follow in her footsteps. But skating never caught my attention, which didn't sit too well with my mother. "I do not know how to skate at all."_

"_No worries." He smiled at me. "Just hold onto me."_

_He stood up; his balance on the thin blade was perfect compared to mine. I got to my feet and took his offered hand. He helped me onto the lake and once we got situated, he took off. He traveled around the edge so we didn't get into the other skater's way – even though there were very few._

_After a while he wanted me to try skating without his support. He stood in front of me, arms out stretched just in case I got a little wobbly. Slowly, I pushed off the edge toward Ted while he went backwards._

"_You got it?" he asked me._

"_I think." I could help but smile as I kept my eyes locked on his. His eyes were just so blue. The most perfect shade of blue that made my heart melt. I got so lost in his eyes that I forget where I was and what I was doing. I fell flat on my butt. "Ow."_

_He chuckled light and kneeled down next to me. "Yeah, just got lost in your eyes." Ah, crap I did it again. Whenever I was around him I just had to say the very first thing that came to mind. So I giggled, hoping that would make things less awkward._

_Before I say anything else, Teddy leaned closer and captured my lips with his. It was a brief kiss, but for our first kiss it felt perfect. "You are so adorable with your word vomit."_

_The comment may have not sounded so sweet, but it made me laugh with happiness. I closed the space between us once more and kissed him._

I smile at the memory. Ted had also proposed to me on that lake.

_It was the beginning of summer. June 2__nd__ to be exact. We were once again on the lake, but this time we were in a boat. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were chirping and I was smiling._

_Ted had made us a wonderful lunch and took me out on his boat. We just wanted to relax and enjoy each others company._

"_Just to let you know, I did not make that mac n' cheese. My mom did," Ted told me while I indulged myself._

_I smiled with a mouth full of food._

"_I did help her make it though." He smiled back at me._

_I swallowed and just continued to smile at him. The sun was hitting him just right which made him glow like an angel. I couldn't be happier with my life. Ted made me feel alive and I loved it. I loved him. I loved Teddy._

"_I wanted to ask you something." Ted placed his glass that was full of water in between his feet to keep it from falling over. I could tell he had something in his hand._

"_What would that be?"_

"_Well, I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

"_I love you a lot. So much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He held out a small black box and popped the top up. My eyes lit up at the sight. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Mickie, will you marry me?"_

Yes yes yes!_ Of course, now that I actually wanted to say the first words that came to mind they just wouldn't come out. It never fails. So I nodded my head enthusiastically._

_He took my hand and gently and slid the beautiful diamond ring in place. I was smiling yet again._

I sigh and walk towards my bedroom door. That is the last good memory I have with Ted. And I can't bear to reminisce on the last memory I have of _him_. I shake my head before my mind travels to that day. I do not want to think about it. At all. It will just make me cry for days. That is what always happens.

The day that Ted died, the day that my husband died, was the worst day of my life. It was the day that my heart was ripped clear out of my chest. He was my everything and he was taken away from me. Never again will I be the same person. Never again will I be able to feel his love. It was just ripped away from me. _He_ was ripped away from me.

And every day I think to myself, _right now, I would rather be anywhere but here without you._


End file.
